KOIOS has top nootropics, but lackluster forms & questionable dosages weaken the formula.

Smart ingredients in KOIOS are great. But doses hidden behind a prop blend? Not so much. Presented in weak-ass forms? Even worse.

KOIOS keeps all but 2 ingredients behind their Mental Titan Blend. But at least they use a few quality ones, including a few from our BIG List of Nootropics.

Still, we have to express our annoyance at KOIOS’s marketing practices. They’re certainly not alone in using this tactic. It is called “bullshitting,” and it looks like this, straight from the KOIOS website:

“We wanted to make sure we were delivering the highest-grade materials…we spared no expense so your brain could reach its fullest potential.”

… and soon as we looked at the label we could tell KOIOS was full of it. Let’s get to it, and check out some of their “highest grade” ingredients.

Vitamin B6. Cheaper, less active form. B6 as the P-5-P form is “activated,” and considerably more potent than the Pyridoxine B6 found in KOIOS.

Vitamin B12. Same as the previous point; B12 is good for the brain, but KOIOS uses the cheaper, less-effective form. Methylcobalamin is the form of B12 you want: It is far more active and effective for brain health (and everything else).

OK, so the B-vitamins are a complete fail in terms KOIOS’s “high-grade ingredient” claims. Hopefully the quality gets better as we move into the meat of this formula….

Mental Titan Blend, 955.2 mg

Yeahhhhh, it’s a prop blend, with all dosages hidden. Booo. The best we’ve got to go on is ingredient listings, so keep in mind the following KOIOS ingredients are listed in order from highest dosage to lowest:

Eleuthero Root Powder: Found in North East Asia, this adaptogen root herb is pretty reliable for fighting stress, promoting mental energy, and enhancingathletic performance. But again, KOIOS uses the most basic, plain form: Powdered root. A “High-Grade” form would be standardized to supply exact levels of the roots active compounds, which are called eleutherosides.

Red Flag: Eleuthero Root Powder and CIWUIJA are one and the same, but most people don’t know that (not even us, we had to look it up). It’s a problem here because KOIOS uses both terms across label and marketing materials, which is confusing. Get it together, KOIOS: Pick one name and use it. We suggest you just go with “Eleuthero.”

L-Tyrosine: A great nootropic for countering stress and brain fatigue, so it’s a good choice. But, KOIOS is using the wrong form: The true High-Grade form is N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine (NALT), which is far better for brain health than the plain, cheaper form found here in KOIOS.

Guarana Seed Extract: Originating from the Amazon, Guarana is believed to increase athletic performance, help with weight loss and minimize mental fatigue. It’s not a well-validated brain booster, and may be included for its caffeine content, which may stimulate alertness.

Alpha GPC. It’s the same story: A good, evidence-based nutrient for brain health (in the choline family), but Alpha GPC is not the best form available. Citicoline does everything Alpha GPC does, but does it better… and does way more for mental performance.

Bacopa Leaf Powder: Another great ingredient choice; in fact, it’s our #3-ranked Nootropic overall. Bacopa is known as a “learning and studying” nootropic, but it does far more. Too bad KOIOS uses plain, non-standardized Bacopa leaf powder — a weaker, cheaper form. If they were true to their “high-grade ingredient” promise, KOIOS would be using Bacopa standardized to 45%+ bacosides, which are the active compounds that bring cognitive benefits.

Phosphatidylserine: Also known as PS, it’s quite possibly the best memory-booster in terms of human research and good scientific evidence. But here, it’s squeezed in at the end, suggesting a tiny, worthless dosage. Plus, KOIOS is using soy-derived PS, which seems to be falling out of favor. Higher-grade forms of PS are now often sourced from sunflower instead.

Vinpocetine: Another great ingredient choice, vinpocetine is our #2-ranked Nootropic overall. It helps blood flow to the brain, and works fast — helping with memory, clarity, and mental energy.

Huperzine A: Enhances brain chemicals, notably acetylcholine. However, Hup-A is really not a “mental performance booster” nootropic. Evidence is far stronger for its ability to help elderly people who are already in cognitive decline — but that’s not the average KOIOS user, no way.

Some KOIOS ingredient choices are on-point, but most are presented in weaker forms. The Best Nootropic Supplements use advanced, enhanced & high potency forms of these ingredients, because they want their formulas to work. Can’t say the same for KOIOS.

KOIOS supplies Cat’s Claw… Maybe?

Cat’s Claw is a traditional herb used for many aspects of health; more recently it’s been investigated for potential brain health benefits. You see Cat’s Claw featured in Alpha BRAIN’s formula as AC-11®, an advanced, patented form. So again, KOIOS defaults to the lesser-quality form of an ingredient… and that’s if it is even present in the formula at all.

KOIOS discusses Cat’s Claw benefits on their site… but it’s not listed in their Supplement Facts. See for yourself with this side-by-side comparison:

Editor’s Note: We called KOIOS about this Cat’s Claw confusion at 2:00 pm on a Tuesday afternoon (their time, in Colorado). Nobody picked up, we were automatically transferred to some jazzy on-hold music for about a minute, and then redirected to a voice mail system. We left a message that was not returned. What reputable manufacturer of supplements doesn’t pick up the phone at 2 pm on a Tuesday? It’s just another credibility-crushing red flag for KOIOS.

Formula Analysis

KOIOS has a pretty good formula, in theory. We were excited to see some of our top nootropic picks in their formula (Phosphatidylserine, Vinpocetine, & Bacopa). In fact, the stack overall looks pretty intriguing at first glance.

But everything unravels upon a deeper analysis, as we are sadly let down by KOIOS on many levels:

Deceptive marketing: KOIOS claims “highest-grade forms” and “no expense spared,” but in reality they are using cheap, low-grade forms of otherwise good nootropics. Don’t bullshit us, KOIOS. It’s so annoying.

Dosage shenanigans: All doses are hidden in a prop blend. PS is listed towards the end, suggesting weak, tiny dosages. Just show the damn dosages, KOIOS.

Sketchy supplement facts: Go to KOIOS’s site, and you’ll not find supplement facts anywhere. We had to email KOIOS to get them, and there are discrepancies between the supp facts and their website. Sloppy.

Even if we’re just looking at the formula alone, KOIOS is 955.2 mg is split among 8-11 ingredients (they’re so inconsistent that we can’t even tell). Though some of their ingredient choices are great, unless they use enhanced forms (which they don’t), this 955.2 mg serving is unlikely to hit beneficial Critical Mass dosages that work.

Smart formulation is not just about picking good ingredients — it’s about stacks that make sense, with premium ingredients in high-potency forms, that may even achieve synergy.

KOIOS’s formula is not smart or skillful; it instead looks like it was slapped together cheaply. It certainly doesn’t live up to their claims of high quality.

Red Flag: Where is KOIOS? What is KOIOS?

KOIOS’s FAQ claims “KOIOS is a Colorado-based company.” But their contact page shows a different location and company altogether:

From this we conclude that KOIOS is actually Americars Group, LLC, which is a used car dealership located in Alabama. Do you really want to buy a brain supplement made by used car dealers? Damn sloppy!

KOIOS Benefits

It’s marketed as a powerful “titan” formula to benefit memory, processing speed, and focus. The top ingredients (Bacopa, Phosphatidylserine & Vinpocetine) support it. They also promise alertness without the jitters, but we can’t validate that without knowing how much caffeine is in the formula (from guarana).

Will you feel anything? Are there any benefits at all? We think the eleuthero, which is the highest dose in the formula, might help with stress levels and brain fatigue… but that’s about it.

Still, we’ve gotta commend KOIOS on their marketing savvy, with its website featuring images like this:

KOIOS will electrocute your elephant, making you flex in triumph while wearing eyeglasses and a fake moustache. Later you can watch all these events on your High-Definition television while sitting cross-legged and eating Doritos. Or something.

Who Takes It?

Athletes & eSport professionals, as emphasized by their testimonials from MLB players, retired football stars, and big names in eSports during gaming tournaments. In this regard, KOIOS is marketed as a “mental performance” product… but the formula itself falls way short of the “mental dominance” that’s advertised.

Any Side Effects?

Probably not. The ingredients are earth grown, vegetarian, and have no intense stimulants. But it does contain soy and a little caffeine, so watch out for that if you are sensitive.

Tricky label. We had to email KOIOS to see the Supplement Facts. What?

Pricing & Buying Info

1 bottle: $49.95

Available online and in stores

Final Word on KOIOS

KOIOS has nootropic potential but falls flat by using inferior nutrient forms. Their credibility crumbles with label discrepancies, prop blend use, nonexistent customer service and dirty lies. There’s a lot of big promises with KOIOS, but at the end of the day it’s a product that’s defined by formula fails, sloppy mistakes, and sketchy marketing practices. Avoid.